


You Should Leave (Don't Walk Away)

by Thomasnewtminho29



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, Season 2 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 01:49:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15402321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thomasnewtminho29/pseuds/Thomasnewtminho29
Summary: Set after Alex's birthday party. Alex is angry and Zach realises he has to do the right thing.





	You Should Leave (Don't Walk Away)

The car ride home was completely silent. Alex’s Dad gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead, his Mom was still crying and his brother was tapping his fingers against his knee looking incredibly uncomfortable. Alex stared out of the window, his stomach twisting and his jaw clenched. What a fucking failure of a birthday party. He hadn’t wanted one anyway. He hadn’t wanted his so-called friends to come, they probably only came out of pity anyway.

 

As soon as his Dad had stopped the car, Alex opened the door and stumbled out. He ignored his Dad calling his name and limped towards the front door and then up the stairs to his room. He slammed the door as hard as he could and screamed in frustration as he flung his cane across the room and fell face forward on his bed.

 

Deep down he knew he’d overreacted but he was so sick and tired of everyone treating him like he was made of glass. He knew he was broken, he didn’t need to be reminded every second of every day. He knew his parents, and his brother, and Jess all meant well but he’d had enough. Then there was Zach… Alex quickly pushed any thoughts of the jock out of his head. If he wasn’t angry at Zach he thought he might cry, and he’d had enough of crying.

 

The door creaked open and Alex ignored it, choosing instead to bury his face into his pillow. “Alex” he heard his Dad say. “We’ve talked about this; your door needs to be open.”

 

“Leave me alone” Alex replied, his voice muffled.

 

He heard his Dad sigh but there were no sounds indicating he’d left the room. With a groan, Alex sat up and turned to face him. “I know tonight didn’t really go as planned” his Dad started.

 

Alex laughed bitterly. “That’s an understatement.”

 

“I know you’re hurting” his Dad continued. “I know this has all been incredibly hard and frustrating for you, but your words really hurt your mother tonight and they hurt me too. You can’t possibly think our lives or your friends’ lives would be better without you in it?”

 

Alex shrugged. “I’m just broken though” he said quietly. “I can’t do anything anymore. I can’t remember anything; I can’t walk properly. What’s the point?”

 

His Dad walked further into the room and sat down on the edge of his bed. “Recovery is a long process” he reminded him. “You’re doing well and I know I might not have acknowledged that and I’m sorry. I’m proud of you Alex.”

 

“Thanks Dad” Alex said, his anger suddenly evaporating leaving him feeling drained. “I’m sorry about tonight, I shouldn’t have lost it like that. I’ll apologise to Mom and Peter in the morning and I’ll apologise to Jess at school.”

 

“What about Zach?” His Dad asked.

 

Alex stared at his feet. “What about him?”

 

“He was upset too” his Dad said gently. “Don’t you think you were a bit harsh?”

 

Pain stabbed at Alex’s chest. “ _Zach_ was upset?” he said angrily. “He couldn’t even tell his Mom he was with me! How do you think that makes me feel? I thought that maybe Zach was different to the rest of those dumb jocks. I thought he might actually be my friend, but it turns out he’s too embarrassed of me.”

 

“Maybe you don’t know the whole story” his Dad suggested. “I understand that what he said was hurtful to you, and there’s no denying that, but maybe there’s more going on in Zach’s life. That boy cares about you, Alex. You know, when you were in a coma he visited everyday, even skipped school occasionally as far as I know. He barely left your side.”

 

Alex’s throat tightened and he raised his hand to rub at his eyes. He didn’t know that. The idea that Zach had sat by him every day of his coma made his heart beat faster, but it also left him more confused. Why was Zach so reluctant to admit they were friends?

 

His Dad squeezed his shoulder before standing up. “You should get some sleep” he told him. “Think about what I said, I don’t think what happened to tonight is worth losing Zach over.”

 

Alex nodded as he slid under the covers. He just wanted this day to be over. “Night, Dad, and I’m really sorry about what I said. You know I won’t try anything like that again, right?”

 

His Dad smiled slightly. “I know, just remember your Mom and I love you.”

 

Alex nodded and his Dad turned out the light and left the room. Alex lay in the dark unable to sleep. He could only think about Zach. It was strange how much of an impact the jock had had on him, despite the anger he felt towards Zach, he couldn’t imagine being without him. Was this really a real friendship though, the two of them unable to hang out unless it was in private? Alex sighed as he rolled over to try and get some sleep.

 

His phone lit up and he turned to grab it, his heart pounding as he wondered if it was Zach.

 

It wasn’t. It was a link to a comment section on a blog. Someone had released Hannah’s tapes.

 

*******

 

The atmosphere at school was probably the tensest it had ever been. Alex felt like everyone was watching him and it was making him even more fed up than he already was. Like they all needed anymore drama.

 

He was getting his books out of his locker when he heard Zach’s name being mentioned by two girls further down the hallway. He moved closer to the girls so he could hear what was being said.

 

“Did you hear what Zach Dempsey did this morning?”

 

“I heard he completely flipped out and slammed Tyler Down against the lockers. He looked like he was about to cry.”

 

“Down or Dempsey?”

 

“Dempsey! Apparently he was really upset about something.”

 

Alex’s stomach twisted. Was this about last night? Was Zach still mad that Tyler had turned up? He had to find Zach.

 

He walked down the hallway as quickly as possible, almost bumping into Courtney. “Alex!” she exclaimed. “Did you get my text? Emergency meeting at lunch about the tapes.”

 

“Yeah” Alex said absently, still scanning the hallway for any signs of Zach. “I’ll be there. Hey, have you seen Zach lately?”

 

Courtney looked uncomfortable. “Oh yeah. He had this big fight with Tyler earlier and then he ran towards the bleachers. I don’t think he’s come back yet.”

 

Alex looked at his watch and decided that finding Zach was way more important than getting to his next class. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.”

 

He turned and walked towards the main doors. He wondered what was up with Zach, the testimonies and the tapes had been getting to all of them, but he hadn’t heard of Zach losing his temper before.

 

As he neared the bleachers, he immediately saw Zach sitting in the front row, his head bent and his shoulders hunched. As he reached him, he cleared his throat nervously. “Hey, mind if I sit?”

 

Zach looked up, his eyes narrowed. “Why would you want to? Thought you wanted me to fuck off.”

 

Alex sat down, keeping some distance between them. “Don’t act like I didn’t have a right to be angry.”

 

“Don’t act like I don’t give a shit about you” Zach shot back.

 

Alex shrugged. “Kind of hard to believe that you care when you won’t even tell your jock friends that we’re actually friends.”

 

“It’s complicated” Zach mumbled.

 

Alex sighed. “So, did you fight Tyler this morning because you’re mad at me?”

 

Zach ran his hand through his hair. “No, it wasn’t about you.” He opened his rucksack and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Alex.

 

Alex unfolded the paper and found himself looking at photos of Zach’s little sister. “What the hell?”

 

“Exactly” Zach said, his voice shaking with anger. “Someone’s been following May around taking photos of her. I thought it might be Tyler as payback for me kicking him out of your party last night but he swears it wasn’t him. It’s not the first time someone’s messed with me- a couple of days ago someone left a dead rat in my gym bag.”

 

Alex felt sick. He knew people were messing with him and Jess but he hadn’t realised they’d been after Zach too. He dug in his own rucksack and took out the target. “Someone’s been messing with me too” he said.

 

Zach read the words across the top of the target, his face pale as he looked back at Alex, looking like he was about to cry. “Why didn’t you show me this?”

 

“I didn’t want you to worry” Alex said. “Jess and I thought it might be Bryce.”

 

Zach’s gaze drifted across the field to where the rest of the baseball team were practicing. “I hate them” he spat. “Especially Bryce.”

 

“Why do you hang out with them?” Alex asked curiously. “You know you’re better than them, right?”

 

“It’s hard to just leave” Zach said, his voice breaking. “These guys have all the power and they know a lot about me. If I cut my ties with them, I don’t know what they’ll do. I’m a coward, ok. That’s why I never told them about Hannah, and it’s why I haven’t told them about you. What if I piss Bryce off and he takes it out on you? I know you think I don’t care, that I’m just a dumb, jock with no feelings, but I _do_ care and that’s why I don’t know what to do. I can deal with them making fun of me but I hate that they’ve started going after you and May. It makes me feel so helpless.” He sniffed and wiped his eyes, turning away from Alex slightly.

 

Alex sat quietly for a few minutes, trying to think of what to say. “I’m sorry Zach” he said eventually, placing his hand on Zach’s shoulder. “I guess I didn’t think of it like that. You’re _not_ a coward though. You need to break free from Bryce, it’s making you miserable and I care about you too. I want you to be happy and you’re not happy around them.”

 

Zach glanced up at him. “What about you though? What if they send you more shit like that target?”

 

“I can deal with it” Alex said firmly. “Come on Zach, I know you’re a good guy. You care so much about people in a way that Bryce and Monty don’t. My Dad told me that you visited me every day I was in a coma. That means a lot to me, Zach. It makes me feel like I’m worth something.”

 

Zach blushed slightly. “You mean so much to me. I’m sorry I lied to my Mom last night, and I’m sorry I haven’t told anyone about us being friends.”

 

“It’s ok” Alex said. “I was in a bad place last night, I said a lot of shit I didn’t mean. I should never have told you to leave. I don’t think I really wanted you to.”

 

Zach pulled him into a hug and Alex held him tightly. He’d never had a friend like Zach before, sure, he was friends with Jess and Clay and Justin, but Zach was different somehow. Even when he was angry with Zach, he still felt so safe around him. He gripped Zach tighter. “We’ll find out who took those photos of May” he told Zach. “We’ll stop Bryce, we’ll get through this together, ok?”

 

He felt Zach nod and then he pulled away. Zach looked determined. “I think it’s time for me to stop being a coward.” He stood up and held his hand out to Alex. “Come on.”

 

Alex frowned as he took Zach’s hand and let the other boy pull him up. “Where are we going?”

 

“You’ll see” Zach said, picking up Alex’s rucksack and slinging it over his shoulder before sliding his arm around Alex’s waist. Zach steered them in the direction of the baseball team and Alex pressed closer to Zach.

 

“Are you sure about this?” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean you had to stand up to them right now.”

 

Zach nodded, his jaw clenched. “You were right, I can’t act like I agree with what they’re doing anymore.”

 

Bryce looked up as they approached. His eyes narrowed as he saw them but he smirked as he held out his arms. “Zachy!” he said. “Where have you been? You know we have practice now.”

 

“I didn’t feel like it” Zach replied, his arm tightening around Alex.

 

Bryce’s smile grew wider as his gaze shifted to Alex. “Oh, on babysitting duty, are you? Your Mom still making you hang around with Alex?”

 

“She never was” Zach said through gritted teeth. “Alex is my best friend. I care about him a lot, actually. I never told you because for some reason I felt I had to be loyal to you but I’m done. You’re a rapist Bryce, I know it, you know it, hell, everyone knows it. I don’t want anything to do with you and I should have said that a long time ago.”

 

Bryce had stopped smiling and the rest of the team were silent, glancing around nervously. “Traitor” Bryce hissed. “You’re nothing without this team Zach. You’re not special.”

 

Alex could feel his blood boiling. “Zach’s worth more than all of you. He’s actually a decent person. Fuck off, Bryce- you’re done.”

 

“Tell Coach I quit the team” Zach said as he turned away, pulling Alex with him. They left Bryce behind, staring shell shocked after them.

 

“I’m so proud of you” Alex said. “That was amazing!”

 

Zach smiled shakily. “I can’t believe I did that. I don’t want to be on the team if I have to have people like Bryce and Montgomery as teammates but what do I do without baseball?”

 

Alex shrugged. “You’re really clever, Zach and you’ve still got football and basketball. You’re amazing at everything you do. It’s a little annoying.” He smirked and Zach elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “Seriously though” Alex continued. “Bryce is wrong, you _are_ special.”

 

Zach smiled almost shyly. “You’re getting cheesy Standall” he joked. His smile fell and he stopped walking, keeping his arm around Alex. “We’re good, right?” he asked quietly.

 

Alex gave Zach another hug, his heart skipping a couple of beats. “Yeah Dempsey, we’re good” he murmured against Zach’s shoulder. They pulled away, grinning at each other and Alex felt like a huge weight had been lifted.

 

The bell rang in the distance and Alex suddenly remembered the tapes. “Courtney’s holding an emergency meeting about the tapes being released” he told Zach. “I guess we’d better go.”

 

Zach’s face darkened. “I feel like things are about to get a lot messier” he sighed.

 

Alex nodded, leaning against Zach as they started walking back towards the school. They still weren’t sure who was threatening them, and now they had the stress of the tapes being released on top of the stress that the trial had already brought. Alex was scared and still felt like he was broken, but now he didn’t feel as lonely anymore. He knew he could trust Zach now and he wasn’t going to let him go. 

**Author's Note:**

> Lol, I'm so bad at endings.
> 
> Please comment if you enjoyed this!


End file.
